Ornithine Alpha-Ketoglutarate (OKG): Nutritional Supplement

Ornithine alpha-ketoglutarate (OKG) is a nutritional supplement which substantially boosts muscle development and drives rapid tissue growth. It is produced in the body in adequate amounts as required through enzyme metabolism.

It is produced artificially from ornithine and glutamine which are amino acids. Ornithine plays an important part in urea cycle of the human body and glutamine catalyzes protein synthesis. These components of ornithine alpha ketoglutarate themselves show anabolic and anti-catabolic properties. Ornithine also causes a significant reduction in body fat when it fuses with arginine and carnitine. What we mean by anabolic is that it boosts muscle growth and tissue healing. Catabolism is a property of some chemicals by which they cause breaking of complex molecules in the body and hinder muscle development.

Ornithine Alpha-Ketoglutarate Sources and Dosage
The components that make up ornithine alpha ketoglutarate are found in most milk products, fish, eggs, meat and all protein rich foods. Ornithine alpha ketoglutarate is available as an external supplement in the form of pills.

Dosage for adults is generally 5 to 25g daily. Do not take a dosage in excess of 25g as it may mostly cause indigestion. Decide the dosage according to your needs and after consultation with a qualified medical practitioner. The anabolic and anti-catabolic effect though observed in many cases may vary individually. There is no guarantee that it will work with everybody and especially athletes. The reason is that everyone has a different type of constitution.

OKG Benefits
Nowadays many accident victims and patients recovering from surgery are administered doses of ornithine alpha ketoglutarate, as it helps in recovery. After a person goes through a severe episode of trauma or a major surgery, the body goes into a self destruct mode. That is it starts to break itself down. It stops the assimilation of protein through the diet and therefore it is excreted in excess amounts through urine. Bones start weakening as calcium intake also goes down. This suicidal mode is driven by hormones like cortisone.

Here is where ornithine alpha-ketoglutarate comes to the rescue. It inhibits the action of cortisone and reverses the suicidal mode into a strength building mode. That is it switches on the anabolic mode of the body in which tissue building and muscle growth starts back again. It is not yet understood how ornithine alpha-ketoglutarate achieves this but there is a possibility that it achieves this through inhibiting the enzyme metabolism of cortisone. Another reason might be that ornithine alpha-ketoglutarate prompts the excess release of the human growth hormone when taken in large doses. The human growth hormone, as its name suggests, drives the growth and recovery of the body.

There is speculation that ornithine alpha-ketoglutarate stimulates the release of insulin which also has anabolic effects. This hypothesis is yet to be confirmed.

Ornithine alpha-ketoglutarate has shown promising signs of helping in treatment of hepatic encephalopathy in clinical trials. It is a type of liver failure which is an outcome of cirrhosis. Ornithine alpha-ketoglutarate is believed to help in curing hepatic encephalopathy by stimulating the urea cycle.

It is already turning out to be a favorite in body-building circles as a muscle building enhancer and is commercially available for the same purpose.

OKG Side Effects
As already mentioned, ornithine alpha-ketoglutarate is a naturally produced chemical in the body so consuming it is quite safe. Only excess dosages may cause stomach problems including severe diarrhea. So stick to the prescribed dosage and reap the benefits. Children should be given lower doses and only after prescription from the doctor.

Thus ornithine alpha-ketoglutarate has revolutionized and accelerated the recovery of traumatized patients and is indeed a boon to medicine.